Events | Torque

SHARE: Catalyzing the Sharing Economy Kicked off Today

Author

Marie Dodson

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Community, Events

Published

May 13, 2014

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The concept of sharing is central to the WordPress community. In fact, it’s a fundamental principle behind “open-source,” and it has shaped WordPress into what it is today. But the capabilities of sharing extend far beyond the confines of open-source software development. Sharing your ideas, your house, or even your pen can ignite change. It can cultivate community and build trust. Today, there is a name for this sharing phenomenon. It’s called the sharing economy, and it’s a movement based entirely off the notion of sharing . . . everything. In a recent article, Nancy Scola highlighted the increasing popularity of the sharing economy: . […]

If It’s a Man’s World, Who Cares? TechCrunch Disrupt, Day 3

Author

Kirby Prickett

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Community, Events

Published

May 8, 2014

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Day 3 didn’t disappoint, the organizers saving some exciting speakers for the big finale. While there was so much to cover from Day 3—from the Startup Battlefield final, to Matt Mullenweg’s surprise appearance—I’ve decided to focus on one of the things I particularly appreciated about Day 3. Girl Power. Why Are There No Women Partners in Any of Your Firms? During a session entitled Is Winter Coming? Investing While Valuations Soar, TechCrunch’s Leena Rao asked 3 male investors—John Lilly of Greylock Partners, Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital, and Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital—why there are no women partners at any […]

Pattern Recognition for Success: Day 2 of TechCrunch Disrupt

Author

Kirby Prickett

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Community, Events

Published

May 7, 2014

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You know how you keep dating the same type of jerk and wondering why it never works out? Well, you’re failing to use Pattern Recognition—recognizing patterns or regularities in the data. Pattern recognition can also be used to evaluate startups, and their founders, to determine the potential success (or otherwise) of the venture. From the personality traits of founders, to the objective of the startup, to the importance of solving your own problems, there seem to be some commonalities that you can try to check off if you want to truly make it as a startup. Solve Large & Real […]

5 Lessons from Day 1 of TechCrunch Disrupt NY

Author

Kirby Prickett

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Community, Events

Published

May 6, 2014

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TechCrunch Disrupt kicked off yesterday at the Manhattan Center in Midtown New York. The day was packed full of techie goodness. At the risk of revealing my own ignorance, I’m going to share the top 5 things I learned on Day 1. 1) Bitcoin is based on something called a block chain architecture, which allows for trustless transactional activity. Right now you need someone to be the arbiter of identity—either Facebook, Twitter, or Google—somebody who developers can use for login and other information sharing. I think you could do the same thing with a block-chain architecture, where there is no […]

WordCamp Austin After Hours

Author

Marie Dodson

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Community, Events

Published

April 25, 2014

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Howdy Ya’ll—WordCamp Austin 2014 starts tomorrow! The weekend will kick off at 9am with a keynote speech by design/user experience lead for the WordPress open source project, Jen Mylo. Following keynote are some pretty awesome sessions led by some impressive speakers. This year, there are 5 different tracks (or 6 including Youth Camp) and 36 sessions. To further enrich your WordCamp experience, don’t forget to check out some of the after hour festivities. This will give you an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with other WordPress fans, in a relaxed and informal setting. WordCamp Austin After Party The official WordCamp after party will succeed Saturday’s […]

WordCamps 2014: Spring & Summer Edition

Author

Marie Dodson

Filed Under

Community, Events, Featured

Published

April 18, 2014

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WordCamps are important events for the WordPress community. They draw WordPress users, developers, designers, and enthusiasts together to talk WordPress and build connections. The dialogue is meaningful, the atmosphere is light, and the sessions are productive. It’s been an exciting journey since the first WordCamp, WordCamp San Francisco, in 2006. Now there are almost 350 WordCamps worldwide—and that number is expected to reach over a thousand in the next few years. With the summer months approaching, it’s a busy time for WordCamps. So, in this post, I’m going to outline some of the upcoming WordCamps for Spring and Summer 2014! WordCamp […]

Hack with a Purpose This Weekend: ‘HACKtivation for the Homeless’ in SF

Author

Michelle Oznowicz

Filed Under

Community, Events

Published

March 27, 2014

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Are you a web developer or designer located in San Francisco with a desire to give back to the amazing community you call home? If so, this is the event for you. HACKtivation for the Homeless is an opportunity to join partners from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to collaborate on civic issues, and address the issue of homelessness in San Francisco. Join ReAllocate, on March 28 – 30, in partnership with St. Anthony Foundation, Project Homeless Connect, Spotify, Lyft, Innovation Alley, Larkin Street Youth, among others, to help alleviate the stresses of San Francisco’s homeless population. It’s bound to be a memorable […]

A Review of WP Think Tank: The Future of WordPress

Author

Marie Dodson

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Community, Events

Published

February 28, 2014

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On Tuesday, WP Think Tank–hosted by Troy Dean–held an exciting discussion. The talk was orchestrated with the intention of having a long and meaningful discussion about the future of WordPress. The live panel included 8 well-known WordPress professionals who shared what they believe will happen to WordPress over the next 5 years. A live chat–filled with passionate WordPress users–simultaneously occurred with the panel. Chat participants were able to actively engage in the discussion by asking questions and sharing their WordPress knowledge and ideas. The chat provided valuable correspondence and interaction, and is still available for backread. The panel covered a variety of topics, […]

CES 2014: From a WordPress Perspective

Author

Michael Bastos

Filed Under

Community, Events

Published

February 6, 2014

2 Comments

I recently spent 4 days in Las Vegas for CES 2014 and noticed a few technologies that—in my opinion—we in the WordPress community will want to actively monitor, as they could potentially affect the future of the platform. Reverse Responsive Design 2012 saw the push for responsive design in themes in order to accommodate smart phones that required developers to handle both touch events as well as different screen sizes and resolutions. By the close of 2013, it was practically impossible to find a theme that was not responsive (I say this jokingly), and mobile design was openly embraced by the WordPress […]

WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Day One: The Beginner Track(s)

Author

Michelle Oznowicz

Filed Under

Community, Events

Published

January 18, 2014

1 Comment

After working with Sufyan and Meg on WordPress for Beginners: Too Many Choices? last week, I’m particularly interested in WordPress education for beginners at the moment. Considering the extremely high percentage of new users who abandon their sites within 7 days on WordPress.com (96%!)—as discussed in depth by Al Davis in The State of WordPress Education, I think it’s important for us to think about the beginner’s experience, and how it can be improved, from an education standpoint. With this in mind, I decided to follow an all-beginner track for day 1 of WordCamp Phoenix yesterday. Out of the 5 tracks offered—Beginner User, […]

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